Specialization for a new habitat often entails a cost to performance in the ancestral habitat. Although aquatic lifestyles are ancestral among extant cryptodiran turtles, multiple lineages, including tortoises (Testudinidae) and emydid box turtles (genus Terrapene), independently specialized for terrestrial habitats. To what extent is swimming function retained in such lineages despite terrestr...

On the shore of the rocky island of Helgoland (North Sea) two closely related isopod species, Idotea balthicaPallas, 1772, and Idotea granulosaRathke, 1843, share a similar fundamental niche but inhabit well-separated habitats. Idotea balthica inhabits floating algae at the sea surface and accumulations of decaying algae on the seafloor, whereas I. granulosa primarily occurs in intertidal macro...

Callistocypris thailandensis sp. nov. is here described from terrestrial habitat in Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand. The new species differs from the other three Callistocypris species in the shape of carapace, the presence of strong longitudinal ridges on the ventral part of the valves and the chaetotaxy of several limbs. Zoogeography and ecology of the genus are b...

Shorebirds have declined severely across the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Many species rely on intertidal habitats for foraging, yet the distribution and conservation status of these habitats acrossAustralia remain poorly understood. Here, we utilised freely available satellite imagery to produce the first map of intertidal habitats across Australia. We estimated a minimum intertidal area of...

Theory suggests that alternative resources may begin to support a food web when highly used resources become less available relative to alternatives. To test the potential for alternative resources to support consumers, we experimentally darkened a lake whose consumers had relied heavily on algal resources (phytoplankton and benthic algae). We estimated the support consumers received from resou...

Dispersal and exposure to amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, Bd) is not confined to the aquatic habitat, but little is known about pathways that facilitate exposure to wild terrestrial amphibians that do not typically enter bodies of water. We explored the possible spread of Bd from an aquatic reservoir to terrestrial substrates by the emergence of recently metamorphosed ...

The effects of tsunamis on microbial ecologies have been ill-defined, especially in Phang Nga province, Thailand. This ecosystem was catastrophically impacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as well as the 600 year-old tsunami in Phra Thong island, Phang Nga province. No study has been conducted to elucidate their effects on microbial ecology. This study represents the first to elucidate their...

To determine the habitat usage and movement patterns of the viviparous aquatic snake Oocatochus rufodorsatus (formerly Elaphe rufodorsata), we radio-tracked 21 snakes on agricultural lands during two active seasons in 2007 and 2008. Male and female snakes stayed close to aquatic habitats such as paddy fields and agricultural ponds during both breeding and non-breeding periods, except when the s...

Many ectotherms effectively reduce their exposure to low or high environmental temperatures using behavioral thermoregulation. In terrestrial ectotherms, thermoregulatory strategies range from accurate thermoregulation to thermoconformity according to the costs and limits of thermoregulation, while in aquatic taxa the quantification of behavioral thermoregulation have received limited attention...

Despite the key role of premetamorphic amphibians in experimental ecology, the factors affecting their abundance has received relatively little attention in natural settings. We applied a model selection approach with AIC (Akaike's Information Criterion) to predict the abundance of embryos and larvae of crested and marbled newts (Triturus cristatus and T. marmoratus) at 32 breeding sites in wes...